WWE Wellness Policy - 6 Wrestlers Badly Derailed (And 4 That Prevailed)

5. Derailed - William Regal

Roman Reigns Drugs
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Brought down by a test failure in a run which nobody could have predicted, Regal was unequivocally the top heel on Raw when a mid-2008 60-day violation put a bullet in his top-line status for good.

His 'lights out' match cancellations and tyrannical decrees as a malevolent King of the Ring are fondly remembered, and it actually seemed likely he was being groomed at one final huge run for the very top prize.

The highlight of this run came during a Triple H/Randy Orton World Title Match on Raw, which he ended out of sheer spite during one of his world class meltdowns, screaming at the production truck to "take it off the bloody air". Prematurely ending the match for both the live crowd and the viewers at home was one of many innovative twists his character put on the tired heel GM role.

As his second failure though, 60 days was too long a time to rebuild that momentum. The suspension ultimately killed the angle dead, as he would be on the wrong end of a 'Loser Gets Fired' match with Mr Kennedy to write him of TV. His autumn return only yielded a midcard slot that he was just grateful to still be afforded.

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Michael is a writer, editor, podcaster and presenter for WhatCulture Wrestling, and has been with the organisation nearly 8 years. He primarily produces written, audio and video content on WWE and AEW, but also provides knowledge and insights on all aspects of the wrestling industry thanks to a passion for it dating back over 35 years. As one third of "The Dadley Boyz" Michael has contributed to the huge rise in popularity of the WhatCulture Wrestling Podcast and its accompanying YouTube channel, earning it top spot in the UK's wrestling podcast charts with well over 62,000,000 total downloads. He has been featured as a wrestling analyst for the Tampa Bay Times, GRAPPL, GCP, Poisonrana and Sports Guys Talking Wrestling, and has covered milestone events in New York, Dallas, Las Vegas, Philadelphia, London and Cardiff. Michael's background in media stretches beyond wrestling coverage, with a degree in Journalism from the University Of Sunderland (2:1) and a series of published articles in sports, music and culture magazines The Crack, A Love Supreme and Pilot. When not offering his voice up for daily wrestling podcasts, he can be found losing it singing far too loud watching his favourite bands play live. Follow him on X/Twitter - @MichaelHamflett